Hi, everyone.
First of all, although I won't build a "high performance" PC right now, I do want to have the way open to grow it when I can (hopefully, in the next months, but that could also take various months / a couple of years).
I've had my current PC for about 4/5 years now. I'm not a gamer, the last one I played heavily was Quake 3 Arena (and it's been a while), but I wouldn't say I'll stay away from games for sure (maybe I will if I have the HW).
I'm a Web and Desktop Developer, so the everyday software I use are 3 or 4 Java applications, Photoshop 3CS, my always on-line Apache web server, Firefox, Safari and some others (at the same time). I tend to watch TV on-line, so Flash streaming is somewhat relevant too
My current PC uses...
Mobo Gigabyte GA-K8VM800M
Micro AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (2.2GHz)
RAM 1GB DDR 400 PC3200 Kingston (KVR400x64C3A/1G CL3)
Graphics nVidia GForce FX-5500
HD 2 Seagate SATA (120GB + 250GB) —I don't remember which ones, though
PSU CoolMaster 500W
Monitor LG L1718s
An unknown case, and some peripherals.
The bigger problem I see is the Mobo. It didn't allow me to expand the RAM when I tried (and I've suffered because of it), and the socket 754 is now obsolete. Therefore, I'm thinking on getting an AM2+ Mobo with the hope it will allow me to have a descent PC easily upgradable for the next few years.
Also, I'm thinking on getting another monitor to use with my current LG so a Graphics Card with support for two monitors would be a nice suggestion —or is it better to add a second card? Is it worth it?.
I want to get/build the fundamentals for a scalable system, and what I'd like (finally) is to...
Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
First of all, although I won't build a "high performance" PC right now, I do want to have the way open to grow it when I can (hopefully, in the next months, but that could also take various months / a couple of years).
I've had my current PC for about 4/5 years now. I'm not a gamer, the last one I played heavily was Quake 3 Arena (and it's been a while), but I wouldn't say I'll stay away from games for sure (maybe I will if I have the HW).
I'm a Web and Desktop Developer, so the everyday software I use are 3 or 4 Java applications, Photoshop 3CS, my always on-line Apache web server, Firefox, Safari and some others (at the same time). I tend to watch TV on-line, so Flash streaming is somewhat relevant too
My current PC uses...
Mobo Gigabyte GA-K8VM800M
Micro AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (2.2GHz)
RAM 1GB DDR 400 PC3200 Kingston (KVR400x64C3A/1G CL3)
Graphics nVidia GForce FX-5500
HD 2 Seagate SATA (120GB + 250GB) —I don't remember which ones, though
PSU CoolMaster 500W
Monitor LG L1718s
An unknown case, and some peripherals.
The bigger problem I see is the Mobo. It didn't allow me to expand the RAM when I tried (and I've suffered because of it), and the socket 754 is now obsolete. Therefore, I'm thinking on getting an AM2+ Mobo with the hope it will allow me to have a descent PC easily upgradable for the next few years.
Also, I'm thinking on getting another monitor to use with my current LG so a Graphics Card with support for two monitors would be a nice suggestion —or is it better to add a second card? Is it worth it?.
I want to get/build the fundamentals for a scalable system, and what I'd like (finally) is to...
- Invest little money (<= $500)
- A solid Mobo (I guess Gigabyte / ASUS?) not so sensitive to "different" RAM DIMMs
- About 2GB+ RAM DDR2, easily upgradable
- An efficient micro < 100W (I'm thinking on the a cheap AMD 64 X2 7750+, ~$72)
- A suggestion on a good Case (I don't need anything fancy).
Thank you in advance for any suggestions.